Once Upon an October
by loveprongs
Summary: Lily's home is attacked and James is the one who finds her. How do things turn out?


"NO, no, no, no, no, no! MUM! DAD!" the girl yelled as she made her way through the remains of the front area of her house. Her emerald almond shaped eyes brimmed with tears. She dropped her voice to a deadly whisper "Petunia?" the girl searched every room in the dark house. She made her way around the smashed lamps and small spot fires upon the torched, dirty carpet. Tears streamed down her pale cheeks and in the dim light her hair looked a blood red and stuck to her face.

"Lily? Lily! Are you here? Are you okay?" A voice came through the girl's constant sobs, she was curled into the foetal position her body wracking with every sob. The tall boy with static style hair ran towards her and scooped her up into his arms. He held her as close to him as was possible without harming her. Lily's emerald orbs turned to face the boy's hazel ones. She looked at him curiously and suspiciously.

"James? What are you doing here? How, how did you know?" she asked, trying to calm down.

"My dad is an Auror, he was told to report somewhere after an attack. I heard the address he had gone too and recognised it. I came here straight away. I'm so sorry."

The boy did not let go of the girl as he stood up, her body limp with sorrow. He carried her up the stairs towards her bedroom. The top floor of the house seemed relatively untouched apart from the things thrown about. The fire had obviously not reached the top floor. Lily groaned a little as they walked past yet another door on the left.

"Here..." she muttered. She gestured to a white door on the corner furthest from the stairs which had a stencil painting of a lily on it in blue. James chuckled as he kicked the door open. He placed Lily carefully onto her bed but did not tuck her in. She began to pull her covers aside and snuggle into her bed when James told her they wouldn't be staying long so not to get too comfortable.

"Where are we going?" Lily asked; her voice still low. She watched as James placed all her clothes carefully into her trunk. His seventeenth birthday was in March and as it was only December he was not able to do magic outside of school. However, as his father was an auror, James had been able to take his apparition test at only sixteen and passed without splinching.

James placed every item in her trunk with so much care like anything of Lily's was breakable.

After packing most of Lily's wardrobe into her trunk he packed it up and helped her off the bed. Lily grabbed a few pictures that were of specific relevance and the last few items she'd need and followed James out into the living room. James motioned for her to hold onto his arm. With one arm on James and one on her trunk, Lily was side-along apparated to the Potter Manor.

Lily had gone home for Christmas for the first time since Second year. Usually Lily preferred staying at school for Christmas to avoid Petunia and her shrill screams. As Petunia had moved out of her parents' house, Lily deemed it safe to return. This now seemed as the stupid idea she'd ever done. The Death Eaters had come knocking. Life in the Wizarding world was always on edge, Voldemort on the rise and all. No one ever expected him to expand into the muggle world. Lily's mother and father were not knowledgeable of the force of Lord Voldemort; she thought it unwise to worry them of a threat that was unlikely to penetrate the walls of wizards. This it seems was the beginning of it all. They did not know of this; thus they were unprepared when they answered the door to the men and women in billowy black cloaks and hard silver masks and were ambushed. Lily Evans; a highly capable witch, best in her year to be precise was up in her bedroom. She had been wrapping and hiding gifts for her parents' Christmas presents when the intruders arrived. Among hearing the shouts and screams on the floor below, Lily Evans had groped her nightstand trying to get hold of a thin piece of wood; her wand. Once having found her wand, Lily scaled the stairs. Her seventeenth birthday was not until the 30th of January. Her father, John; caught her eye as she was scaling the staircase. He gave her a solid look that cleanly stated "get-out". Lily tried to shake her head, signalling her stubbornness and will to fight. John Evans knew clear enough that Lily was unsafe in this situation. If she were to fight, she would be expelled from her school, if she were to stay and fight the normal way, she would die. He once again gave her a stern look that showed he was not to be argued with. "Run" he mouthed.

Lily did run. Lily ran back up the stairs and then threw her shoes onto the bed. She hoped she had not been seen by anyone other than her father. She placed a pair of thick socks upon her feet that she often wore when she tried to sneak out during the summer. Walking down the hallway and up the hidden trapdoor up to the attic, her footsteps were muffled to the point of silence by the socks. As a joke from an old muggle movie, John Evans had installed a moving bookcase. A certain book, _Pride and Prejudice_ when moved, caused the bookcase to be able to one side revealing a stairwell to the attic. The attic was the family's bomb shelter. Surprisingly, the top of the Evans house was built as sturdy as a bomb shelter under the ground. Nothing could break this part of the house. It was fire-proof, had no weight limitation and was ultimately indestructible. Lily felt the floor of the attic shake. That had to be a pretty big bang to be felt through that kind of floor. Lily moved silently across the room towards the window. She peeked slowly above the windowsill and saw six black figures fade into thin air with six barely audible pops.

Unbeknownst of the Dark Mark in the clouds above her house, Lily made her way through the rubble of her house; **trashed**.

Although in pain, Lily decided to accept James Potters arm and let him help her escape this horrible scene.

Upon arriving at the Potter Manor, Lily Evans was struck with a wave of overwhelming tiredness. Be it from the shock of the evening or the apparating side-effects, Lily was unable to even stand anymore. She buckled and collapsed into a heap on the floor, quickly to be caught just before landing harshly. A beautiful woman with deep copper hair and melting brown eyes hurried in the room as James had caught Lily. Lily couldn't help but feel she knew this woman from somewhere. She had with her a small vial of a blue, white liquid. The label read "_Calming Draught_". Lily could faintly make out some of what James and the beautiful woman were saying; fighting her sleepiness to stay away for just a little longer. James was standing behind Lily, one arm firmly holding one of Lily's arms, the other wrapped around her front, holding the opposite hip to support her standing. Lily managed to mutter something moderately coherent along the lines of needing sleep. James ceased his conversation with the woman and handed Lily the vial. Lily drank the sugary substance, feeling even sleepier afterwards. James scooped Lily up in his arms and carried her up to a room. Lily fell asleep while James carried her to the guest room right next to his. He really did care for her more than anything in the world. As soon as he had recognised Lily's address, he had apparated immediately.

Since the beginning of the term, Lily and James had become friends. They began the train ride as enemies (on Lily's half) , made a pact to become civil, and left the train acquaintances. Their job, both being the Head students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, meant they not only had to put up with each other more often; they also had to share living quarters. The Head students had their own dormitories; this included a common room as well. So Lily and James spent 95% of their days together by force of nature. They hardly ever fought anymore, James told Lily things he had never told anyone and in return Lily told him things. Lily knew of Remus' lycanthropy and was very understanding. She knew about the Marauders being animagi and even begged to be allowed to become one herself. Of course, knowing the pain that he caused people as a Werewolf, Remus never allowed it. Neither did James, it was just too dangerous. Eloise Potter, the beautiful woman with copper hair and chocolate coloured eyes was James Potter's mother. James had introduced Lily to his mother, in third year on the platform at Kings Cross. Not that he expected her to remember that though. Eloise was a healer; Head Healer to be precise. During the holidays, Eloise was the one who healed all of the Marauders after a full moon. During term however, that was now Lily's job.

When James returned from his impromptu departure, Eloise had rushed to see what had happened. Upon seeing the fire headed beauty attached to her son's arm she removed a vial of calming draught and handed it to James for the distraught girl.

"Is she alright? What happened?" Eloise asked in a hushed voice as not to distress the girl even more.

"Mum, this is Lily Evans." James said simply. That explained a whole lot to his mother. James spoke very fondly of Miss Evans. Eloise knew Lily was a muggleborn witch and immediately sympathized for the poor girl. If not hard enough, a muggleborn in these times must have plenty of struggles.

"Her house was ambushed, Death Eaters. Both parents are dead. Her sister is at her fiancé's apartment. The whole house was trashed, I don't know much else. She was too upset; understandably." James continued. "Do you think she could stay here the rest of the holidays? Tomorrow, well..." James glanced at his watch before going on. "...Today is Christmas Eve." He finished sighing.

"I insist she stays. It will be delightful to have a girl around and I'd also just like to keep an eye on her for a few days. Put her in the guest room between you and Sirius." Eloise said, her motherly tone immediately back in place. She watched the way James looked at Lily, the way he reacted to her. Her son was in love, she knew this for sure even if Lily was yet to realise.

Lily Evans woke up at about four in the morning. The previous nights events came flooding back. Her parents were dead, James found her, and James brought her to his house which was by the way HUGE! That copper haired lady must be James' mother; Lily decided remembering in third year when James tried to introduce her as his future wife. Lily felt a cool shudder down her spine and instantly felt remarkably alone. She needed someone to hold her, if only just for a little while. She contemplated going to see Sirius, to see how he'd react. No, she decided against that as James would not hesitate to ground his best mate to a pulp if he so much as looked at Lily liked anything more than a little sister. Lily finalised her decision; to go and find James. She slid open her door, swiftly and quietly making sure not to make too much noise. Obviously that failed, the door next to Lily's swung open and James came bounding into the corridor. Behind the door on the other side of Lily's a muffled groan could be heard.

"Jmmms, ggrrtt bbbkk tttt sllllppp rrrr iiii ill mrrrdrrr oooo" which can only be believed to translate to: "James, get back to sleep or I will murder you." Charming Black; very charming.

"Lily, are you alright? I heard you get up" James whisper-yelled in panic.

"I'm fine James I just..." Lily trailed off out of embarrassment, praising whatever deity it was that it was dark enough in the corridor that James couldn't see her blush "... I was wondering if I could... ehm, stay with you? I ehm can't seem to sleep... I think I'm afraid of being alone." She muttered.

James looked like someone had slapped him in the face with a fish and had McGonagall strip tease in front of him. Once he regained himself he answered firmly.

"Of course you can! Here, come in" He said giving her a quick hug and guiding her to his bed. Lily let out the deep breath she was unaware she had been holding. She felt safer just being guided by James. Lily climbed into the bed and hugged herself close to James which would probably give the impression of a six year old with a giant teddy, much larger than the size of her body. James drew calming circles into her back with his right hand while soothingly running his hands across her scalp with his left. Almost instantly, Lily fell into a comfortable sleep; her chest rising and falling in even rhythm, her heart beating at a calm pace. James lay awake watching the beauty in his arms. She had dry tear stains down her cheeks and swollen eyes from her grieving; but to him, she was still just as perfect. Slowly, James' eyelids became too heavy to fight and he too fell asleep.

Since Lily and James had become friends over their Head-ships, Lily had spent a lot more time getting to know the Marauders; and in turn, the Marauders spent a lot more time getting to know Lily. The Marauders had all taken to Lily in their own way.

Sirius, at first was hesitant of this friendship but soon came to realise that it was one of the greatest things to ever happen to them. Lily became their den-mother. She was the one who fixed all of the cuts and bruises. In turn; Sirius began loving her like his little sister. No one could get away with making Lily feel worthless while he was near.

Remus and Lily had already been friends; this closeness just built a more concise level on their friendship. The height of Lily's understanding for Remus' lycanthropy and ability to see the beauty in the darkest of situations became the pinnacle of Remus' love for Lily. She was the sibling he never had. He cared for her as she cared for him.

Peter was sceptical of Lily. He felt that Lily would tear the Marauders apart. He feared being alone. Peter was always quite cold to Lily's efforts to become friends. They were acquaintances; no more.

James (if possible) fell even more in love with Lily. Perhaps he just fell. James realised that childish antics and a prick wasn't getting him very far. He cleaned up his act and went about maturing himself to a certain extent. Seeing Lily's relationships with his mates he knew that finally, whatever happened he would be some kind of permanent fixture in her life.

Sirius Black was unaware of the presence of the fire-headed beauty in the house. Thus leading to great surprise when he went to go barge his best friend the next morning only to discover James staring intently at the petite female that was curled around his side like a koala attached to his chest. James quickly silenced his best friend with a piercing look. Sirius gave James a confused look yet winked nonetheless and backed slowly from the room, shutting the door silently behind him.

No sooner than when Sirius' raven mop of hair was disappearing around the door frame. Lily began to stir. She was muttering something. James snapped his eyes away from the retreating figure of his best friend towards his love.

"James!" she yelled. James looked at her. She was still asleep she was shaking and there were tears streaking down her cheeks. She was clearly having a nightmare. James was in her nightmare?

"NO, PLEASE NO! ANYONE BUT HARRY" she cried. She waited for whoever was responding.

"You can have me, take me! Just not Harry!" James tried shaking Lily. She was slowly waking up. Lily awoke with an abrupt jolt she was still crying and gave a small yelp as she woke. James drew calming circles as Lily heaved for air, gulping in as much as was humanly possible.

Lily looked up at James, her eyes red from crying. She looked completely shattered. James moved his hand up to her cheek and wiped away the recently shed tears from her face. Lily nuzzled her face into the crook of James' neck and threw her arms around him. He didn't even have to ask her what happened.

'It was horrible" she said in a hoarse whisper "You were showing Harry coloured bubbles from your wand. You left it behind. He came, you... you..." she broke off. "You told me to run. It was just like when my father died. I saw the flash of green. You didn't have your wand! Why didn't you take your wand James?" she cried.

"Shhh, shh calm down Lily. It was just a dream. Look, I'm alright. I'm alive. So are you." James said to console the hysterical girl.

Lily lifted her head again. She wriggled herself up so that she could see James properly but still was close to him.

"James, please never die on me. Please never leave me alone. I can't do it without you. Just –"whatever Lily was thinking of saying, she decided against it. She instead conveyed what she wanted to say by firmly pressing her lips onto James' displaying her long hidden passion for him. "I love you and I don't know if I could live without you near me." She finished, goofy grin intact.

As soon as James recollected himself from the shock of Lily's proclamation, he took action. He rolled onto his stomach, thus pinning Lily beneath him and pretty much snogged her until they both felt severely light-headed.

"Lily Evans, I have waited for you to tell me that for six years! You're telling me now, in my bed!" He said with faux exasperation. "Needless to say, I love you Lily Evans. Even though we aren't even dating yet I want to ask you something. You don't have to say yes just yet." He said. He rolled off of her and over to his bedside table. He used his wand to open the drawer beneath, saying it had special locks on it for "Sirius Protection".

Without letting Lily see what he was holding, James rolled back to face her. He knelt on the bed on the basis that it made what he was going to do right. One hand behind his back he began to speak.

"Lily Marie, you not ten minutes ago asked me never to leave you. I have been in love with you since I was eleven. Even if I didn't notice it til about fifteen, I always loved you. I still do and I will forever. Will you become my wife? Not until the end of school; but will you?" James said, a pleading yet sincere look in his eyes.

In response to his little speech, Lily launched out of her seat. She began attacking James with kisses. James put on a cheeky grin and said "So that's a yes then?"

Lily chuckled and replied with "Of course you great buffoon!"

James removed his hand from behind his back to reveal to Lily a deep maroon ring box. He opened the box to show her the perfect ring. It had one single emerald in the centre with two smaller diamonds one on either side on a plain silver band. Lily gasped at the sight of it. James placed it on her finger and then kissed it lightly.

"You know, it's about three in the afternoon. We should probably go downstairs sometime soon." James said.

As if in response to James' statement, Lily's stomach let out a hearty groan. Both James and Lily laughed and walked down to the kitchen hand in hand.

No one in the Potter household was surprised when Lily was seen sporting a small engagement ring. It was going to be a long year. All of the Hogwarts letters had arrived that morning. Lily and James had been appointed Head students.

Remus was the one who ended up giving Lily away to James. It just seemed to fit perfectly. Lily and James were forever and always to be together. It was as though it was written in the skies. Star cross'd lovers to fulfil a prophecy. Little did they know of the Prophecy of a young boy to be born nine months after their wedding night,


End file.
